Making “Everybody’s Hometown” a great place to live!
Walking around the streets of Media Borough, visitors and residents see evidence of our wonderful Public Works department, even if they don’t know it!
Ralph DeRosa, Media Borough’s Public Works Director, can’t say enough about his crew of hard working employees. Ralph started with the Media Borough Public Works Department in 1972 and was promoted to Director in 1976. Mr. DeRosa’s crew of 13 workers, 2 of whom are part time, are responsible for a multitude of tasks within the borough. Seven members of the Public Works crew work in the highway department and 3 work on trash. All of them help keep our borough clean, safe and enjoyable for residents and visitors.
The Media Borough Public Works Department can be seen in our streets and in our parks and public spaces in the summer cutting grass, trimming trees, and maintaining structures. They are also the borough tree planters. Every time a tree has to be cut down because of disease or dangerous limbs, the Public Works Department plants one in its place and provides water bags to keep it hydrated as it gets established.
Have you noticed all the lovely planters hanging from the borough light posts? The public works crew water them every couple of days. They also empty all the public trash cans, recycling bins and dog waste cans. After large events such as Dining Under the Stars and Super Sunday, the crew can be seen cleaning and tidying the streets. Clearing the street with the sweeper can be difficult with all the street parking in the borough, but Mr. DeRosa says it’s important to keep up with street cleaning to avoid storm drains being blocked by debris. Residential recycling is sub-contracted (to J.P. Mascaro) but the Public Works Department handles trash pickup for all borough residents and some small businesses.
Media Borough has over 26 miles of borough-maintained roadways. The Borough Public Works Department handles potholes, minor repairs and line painting. Street resurfacing is an ongoing project within the borough and is subcontracted out but managed by the Public Works Department. As a road is re-paved, handicapped accessible crosswalks are put in at every intersection. In the winter, our Public Works Crew can be seen plowing all 26 miles of borough roadways and during storms, they are out in bad weather clearing storm drains to aid stormwater drainage. New stormwater projects being planned with the help of the Environmental Advisory Council and grants should help with stormwater management.
But wait there’s more!
By now you are probably thinking, how does the Media Public Works Department do all this for our lovely borough? Well, that’s not all they do. They are also responsible for all public building maintenance and street sign replacements as well as maintaining all crosswalk painting throughout the borough but most especially near schools and on speed bumps. Mr. DeRosa’s crew collects yard waste from residents on the first Wednesday of the month from January through September, when they switch their focus to leaf collection. All leaves and yard waste, including Christmas trees, are taken to the Delaware County Compost Farm, where finished compost is available to Delaware County residents. The Media Public Works Department appreciates all the residents who tie up tree limbs prior to setting them out for collection. Please remember to do this as you put out yard waste in the fall. It helps the crew expedite the collection. In addition, if borough residents have large items for pickup, please call at least 48 hours prior to the last Wednesday of the month so the crew can be available to pick up your large items in a timely manner. TV’s and computers cannot be picked up by the borough. You must visit an e-cycling event to drop off these items. The borough in conjunction with several other municipalities is hosting an electronics recycling and shredding event this Saturday, July 28th.
How can you help the Media Public Works Department? As mentioned above, please keep the crew in mind when putting out yard waste or large items. Also, please do not put out wet paint. It wreaks havoc on the waste trucks and spills into the streets. Water based paint can be dried by putting kitty litter into the container. Once it is completely dry, you may set it out for collection. Oil based paint can never be collected by the borough and must go to a hazardous waste recycling center.
Also, please use the public waste and recycling cans responsibly. Public recycling cans are located in public places and on streets. Please refrain from putting trash in the recycling receptacles. The Environmental Advisory Council is working to upgrade signage on the recycling cans and to provide more of them to make it easier to spot them.
Many thanks to Mr. Ralph DeRosa for contributing to this article and for the borough’s great Public Works crew! With their help, Everybody’s Hometown continues to be a beautiful place to live, work or visit!